The 26-year-old Westford native said he was a passenger in a vehicle involved in an accident while he attended Westford Academy as a teenager. While all passengers were safe, a friend who didn't buckle up in the back seat flew forward upon impact.

Breault said that experience stuck with him, and it's a motivating factor behind his devotion to heavily enforce traffic laws in town today.

Due to his diligence, Breault, a 2005 Westford Academy graduate, recently received the AAA Safety Hero Award, an accolade granted to about 100 officials throughout the state, according to Police Capt. Victor Neal.

Neal said Breault was nominated for the award by Capt. Mark Chambers because the officer is always taking the initiative to making additional vehicle stops on his shifts.

"He's always out there looking for traffic violations, as well as doing the regular job," Neal said. "He's very proactive, so we thought he was a good one to nominate."

Breault has been with the Westford Police Department for about two years since he graduated from the police academy. In that time, he has worked to carry out projects with grants through the "Click It or Ticket" national campaign, as well as "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" and an undercover pedestrian-cross program. During the summer, Breault posed as a regular pedestrian crossing in front of Kimball Farm.

Advertisement

If a car didn't let him pass, he would notify an officer down the road to stop the vehicle and issue a citation.

Breault said receiving the Safety Hero Award meant a lot to him, because he considers himself on a mission to educate the public through traffic stops.

"It's not to penalize people," he said. "That's the courts' job. We're there to educate someone by issuing a citation and hoping they won't do it again. We make sure they're aware of the law.

Officer Michael Breault, right, crosses the street in front of Kimball Farm in an effort to determine whether motorists would stop in accordance with the law.
SUN / SAMANTHA ALLEN

Breault said he also believes traffic enforcement is about something larger. It's not just about stopping speeders or notifying someone that a taillight is out, he said.

"It's about police presence," he said. "If you're constantly stopping cars on Route 110, Route 40 and in the residential areas, every time you turn on the blue lights, you deter someone from a motor-vehicle infraction or even a housebreak. If you make Route 110 look like a Christmas tree of blue lights, (others) will be more deterred to break into Radio Shack or rob a Dunkin' Donuts."

Breault said he's looking forward to future programs in which the department will take part, including a likely initiative in the spring to stop people for not being properly buckled up.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sun. So keep it civil.